We Move To Texas
by Romione101
Summary: Wayne decides that it's not safe for Finn and the others to stay in Florida. The seven of them have to live together, ALONE, for six months or longer! Will they be able to survive each other? Isn't bad, but I'm putting a higher rating so I don't have to go back and change it. :)
1. Texas, Here We Come

**Okay, this just sort of came to me, and i like it better than my other story, so I'm probably going to be writing about this one more.**

**Oh, by the way, i do not own Kingdom Keepers. :(**

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**Finn P.O.V.**

Two weeks.

We had two weeks off, and now we're running from the OTs again.

Philby made sure I was the only one crossed over tonight. Wayne had told me yesterday that he needed to talk to me. That it was urgent.

I walked stealthily across the plaza to the back entrance to Wayne's apartment, opening the door only to find Amanda already talking to the old man himself.

I felt my heart speed up. That always happened when I saw Amanda. Up until a couple weeks ago, things had been weird between us. You know, with Charlie and all.

Thankfully, Charlene got over her stupid crush on me. Apparently, she and Amanda had talked, seeing as they were acting like sisters whenever they were together.

My hands started sweating. Why didn't Philby tell me she was coming? I would have tried to look nicer than this.

Upon hearing the door opening, Amanda had turned around, smiling when she saw me. That just made me more nervous.

Not wanting her to think anything was wrong, I quickly sat down beside her, looking at Wayne expectantly.

"Well?" I asked, impatient.

Wayne looked as if he hadn't slept well in awhile. He sighed and said solemnly,

"It's not safe for you here anymore. The Imagineers and I have decided that all seven of you need to move."

"WHAT?!" Amanda and I yelled.

"I know that this is quite a shock to you, but you must understand that I am only doing this to keep you kids safe."

"But where are we going to go? How are we going to pay for it? What about our families? I mean, Jess and I don't have any, but the others do! Oh yeah, and how do you expect the seven of us to live together and get along?!" Amanda rambled, gasping for breath when she finished.

"Yeah, and how long are we going to be gone? Look, I love those guys, all of them, but I can't even imagine having to live with them! I'd be dead after one hour!"

Wayne looked ready to pass out from all our questions.

"Children, if you will be quiet for just one moment, I will be happy to answer all of your questions."

He took a deep breath and started talking again.

"You will be moving to Texas. You will not be paying for your trip, I have already taken care of that. You will be staying in a beautiful suite that takes up an entire floor of the Millionaire Hotel. I have already talked to everyone's families and hostesses, and they are fine with you all going alone. They say you have grown up and that they trust you."

That answered most of our questions, but Wayne had failed to answer the most important question going through my head right now.

"Yeah, that's all fine and dandy, but how long do we have to stay there?" Amanda asked.

I swear, sometimes it's like she can read my mind.

Wayne seemed hesitant to answer, like he was dreading our reaction. Finally, he let out a big breath and said,

"At least six months."

**Amanda P.O.V.**

"WHAT!?"

It was the morning after our meeting with Wayne, and we had met up with everybody to tell them the news.

It wasn't one of our best days.

"SIX MONTHS?!" Charlene yelled.

"What, so you don't want to spend six months with me?" Willa asked.

"I don't mind spending six months with you, you're my best friend. I just don't want to spend six months with HIM!" she answered, pointing at Maybeck.

"Hey, I'm not too excited about sharing a suite with you, either, monkey girl!" Maybeck said, leaning across the table toward Charlie.

"Did you just call me Monkey Girl?!"

They started fighting about something, but it got drowned out by everyone else disagreeing with each other.

Willa and Jess were arguing with one another while Philby and I tried to break them up.

Maybeck and Charlene's fight was slowly getting heated, and I could tell that they were about to get physical, so I stopped trying to break up the two girls and fixed my attention on not letting Maybeck and Charlie fight in the middle of a restaurant. All the while, Finn's head was in his hands. I felt sorry for him.

Yeah, the seven of us would do fine in a suite together for six months, maybe longer. Make sure you note the sarcasm in my voice since there's quite a lot.

Philby, seeing my dilemma, ran over to Maybeck and held him down, while I did the same to Charlie. This was going to get ugly.

Thankfully, before anyone could start throwing punches, Finn stood up and yelled,

"QUIET!"

Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. To tell you the truth, I was a little scared. Finn had never yelled at us before. And he looked MAD.

"Look," he said, his voice going back to its normal level, "I'm not any happier than you are about this, but we have no choice. Our parents agreed. We're going, no questions asked. I know that there's going to be some drama over the next six months, but let's try to not rip each other's heads off before we even get on the plane."

He plopped back down in his seat, tired.

I looked around at all the other faces at our table. The faces I knew so well. We all came to a silent agreement to wait until we got to Texas before fighting. I had a feeling that I was going to get to know everyone a lot better than I do now.

**Charlene P.O.V.**

I couldn't believe this.

I mean, I loved those guys a lot, they were part of my family, but six months was way too long. And that was at the least!

I took one last look at my room. Everything was packed up, so it seemed very empty. All that was left was the shelves and my bed. I had grown up in this place, and I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing it in a long time.

"Charlene, honey, Mrs. Whitman is here to pick you up!" my mom called from downstairs.

As I made my way down, I wondered how she was going to fit everyone's luggage into her car. I knew for a fact that everyone was pretty much bringing their whole room.

When I opened the door, my questions were answered. Attached to the back of Mrs. Whitman's car was a humungous trailer. It was so big my jaw dropped.

So that's how she's going to fit all our luggage.

My mom stopped me at the door, pulling me into a hug.

"Mr. Wayne told me that it would be best for me to not converse with you, so don't call or write to me."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "But, mom-"

"It's fir the best, sweetheart. Don't worry, we'll see each other soon."

Tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes. I could feel some of my own starting to build up.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Turner, but could finish up? We have three other kids to pick up and our flight leaves in an hour." Mrs. Whitman called.

My mom turned to me one last time, looking me over.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"Getting a picture in my head. I don't want to forget what you look like. I want to remember every detail. Oh, you've grown up so fast. I'm sorry I won't be able to be there for your seventeenth birthday."

"Mom, you don't have to-"

"I love you, Charlie."

I stood there, dumbfounded for a second.

"You called me Charlie." I whispered, one tear managing to fall despite my efforts to keep it inside.

Mrs. Whitman said for me to hurry up, and my mom gave me a little shove.

Right before I climbed inside, I turned back around toward my mom and yelled,

"I love you, too!"

Her tears ran down her face. She blew me a kiss before closing the front door.

I slammed the car door shut, not feeling in a talking mood.

For the first time I realized exactly how much I was going to miss her.

As the others talked quietly, giggles erupting here and there, I felt a single tear roll down my cheek.

**Willa P.O.V.**

Since my mom was a drunk, I had no sentimental good-bye when it was my turn to get picked up.

In fact, my mom didn't even wait to tell me bye.

As soon as I finished packing and came downstairs, she said,

"Have a nice time in Louisiana. Tell me if there were any cute guys."

She started up the stairs toward her room.

"It's Texas!" I yelled before she slammed the door.

Personally, I didn't care if my friends and I got in a fight every day. Anything was better than this.

With no one else to say bye to, I lugged all of my stuff out onto the front porch. It took several trips.

When I finished, I collapsed onto the porch myself. I really needed to get back in shape. Two weeks of no running from OTs gave me some time to gain weight.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not even close to being fat. In fact, Charlene says that I'm just paranoid and that I've always been that way, but I still think I've gained a couple pounds.

Charlene isn't like me, though. She doesn't gain weight the way I do. We could both eat twenty s'mores and it would show on me, but not her. She could eat a hundred cheese burgers and still be the same weight.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Mrs. Whitman pulling up into our drive. When I saw the ginormous trailer attached to the back of her van, my jaw dropped.

That was a big trailer.

The back door of the car slid open, four of my friends jumping out to help me with my stuff.

When Charlene reached me, she looked very relieved.

"Thank goodness you're finally with us!" she exclaimed, looking back at the boys with disgust.

"What do you mean?"

"I was sitting in the car with them for fifteen minutes. It felt like so much longer."

She rolled her eyes before adding, "They were talking about _guy stuff_."

I nodded my head to show Charlie that I understood.

Right on cue, the boys caught up to us, all of them laughing their heads off.

"Hey, Willa!" they all yelled at the same time. This only triggered their meaningless laughter again. I rolled my eyes as we put the last of my bags into the trailer.

As we walked to the car and started to climb in, Charlene whispered,

"I'm really glad you're here."

I was glad I was here, too.

**Jess P.O.V.**

Amanda and I were ready pretty quickly since we barely had anything to pack and no one to say good-bye to.

Last night when we got home, Mrs. Nash told us to have a nice life and to not wake anyone up when we left.

That was the most words she'd ever said to us without screaming.

I think I'm going to miss Mrs. Nash a little bit.

Okay, that's a lie. Let me rephrase that. I'm going to miss her reaction when she sees the good-bye present I left her.

I sat down on steps in front of the house, Amanda doing the same.

It was quite early in the morning, so it was still cold, and the sun hadn't come out yet. By the time it did come out, we wouldn't be in Florida anymore. We'd be in Texas.

I wouldn't be able to see the Florida sun in at least half a year. And that was if we got lucky.

Next to me, Amanda yawned, laying her head on my shoulder. She was never an early riser. Personally, I think the best time of day is the morning. That's the time when there isn't many people outside, just nature.

I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath of Florida air. In a couple of hours, I wouldn't be able to do that anymore.

I hear the gravel in front of our house being run over, so I open my eyes. My jaw drops when I see the humungous trailer attached to the back of Mrs. Whitman's car.

I looked over at Amanda only to see my expression reflected back at me.

The back door slid open and all my friends jumped out, the guys laughing like maniacs.

"You four are so weird!" Maybeck yelled to to us.

At first I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but Willa and Charlie explained it to us.

"Apparently, we all had the same expression when we saw the trailer." Charlene said, rolling her eyes.

The four of us threw my and Amanda's bags into the trailer, trying to ignore the guys.

Maybeck said something that sent the other two into a very loud and obnoxious fit of laughter.

"Boys." all four of us said before laughing and jumping into the car.

As Mrs. Whitman peeled out of the drive, I looked out the window, saying good-bye to Mrs. Nash.

Behind me, the boys began throwing skittles at me and the other girls, starting an all-out skittle war.

Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.

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**There you have it, folks! I might not be able to update as much since we're getting into tech week for the musical I'm in, but I promise I'll try!**

**Thanks for all your support! I love you guys!**

**R,R, and R!**


	2. The Drama Begins

**Here's chapter two, folks! Sorry it took so long, I'm just sooo busy. Anyway, I do not own Kingdom Keepers blah, blah, blah. All that depressing stuff.**

**Note to abrocks1234: HURRY UP AND WRITE! I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER!**

**Love ya! Enjoy!**

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**Philby P.O.V.**

Well, we kept to our word. Sort of.

Once the original silliness of morning wore off, we all became grumpy. But we still kept to our silent agreement about not fighting until we were in Texas.

Well, technically we started fighting in the airport, but that's just a minor detail.

As we walked into the airport, I could tell Maybeck was trying not to say something that would start a fight. It probably had something to do with Charlie. It always did.

Why couldn't he be happy with no drama? Nothing was good enough for him unless something was wrong.

But I could tell the thought left his mind when Mrs. Whitman pulled out a big suitcase from in the middle of our bags.

It caught everyone's attention.

She called one of the flight attendants over, said something, then walked back over to us, the little man scurrying away quickly, calling for backup.

She jerked her head toward an empty hallway, signaling us to follow her. We all exchanged looks before following after her, puzzled.

We crowded around Mrs. W. while she slowly opened the suitcase. I almost fainted.

Everyone's eyes bugged out at the contents of the satchel.

Money. Lots of it.

In fact, I don't think I'd ever seen that much money in the same place before. It looked like it was about 5,000$.

And that's when I realized they were all hundred-dollar bills.

My head felt like it it was about to explode. There was 500,000$ in that thing!

Mrs. Whitman closed the case quickly, looking at all of us and our dropped jaws.

"All of this is yours, be very smart about how you use it. Wayne is trusting you all to be responsible with this money."

She said all of this really fast, seeing as our flight was leaving in about 20 minutes.

"I personally don't think it's a good idea for you to be left alone with this money, but Wayne thinks you're trustworthy. Prove him right."

We all left the hallway, leaving Finn and his mom to say good-bye.

A couple minutes later, Finn walked out of the hallway and caught up with us, looking slightly disgruntled.

But I wasn't paying attention to him. I was paying attention to the suitcase he was carrying. I was suddenly taken over by greed. I wanted that money.

I stepped closer to Finn, only to find that everybody else had, too.

Finn sensed what we were doing and held the suitcase away from us.

"My mom said not to use it until we get to Texas, and only if we need to.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Come on, Finn! There's 500,000$ in there! Besides, I don't want to USE it, I just want to look at it."

She made a grab for the money, but Finn held it above his head, out of her reach.

But not out of Maybeck's reach.

He grabbed the suitcase and opened it, not letting anybody else near it.

"I got it, I get to keep it!" he yelled, bragging.

Charlene creeped up behind him and jumped on his back, grabbing for the money.

While he was trying to get it away from her, Amanda and Jess went at him from the sides.

Maybeck tried to get away, so Finn and I slid and wrapped ourselves around his legs, pinning him there.

Charlene was close to grabbing hold of the case and was pulling herself over Maybeck's shoulder to get it, keeping it away from Amanda and Jess's hands.

Since Maybeck was having a hard time keeping his balance, we all went tumbling to the ground in a heap. We were so tangled up that we couldn't get apart.

That's when I realized Willa wasn't in our little knot.

I looked around frantically, but all I could see was the crowd of people standing around us, taking pictures and laughing.

Then I spotted her.

She was reading a book.

She stopped reading and looked up at me, smiling. She closed her book and walked over to us.

The crowd had lost interest in us and had gone back to what they had been doing before.

Laughing, Willa grabbed the suitcase out of Charlene's hands and handed it to the flight attendant standing next to her.

She knelt down next to us, peering at us closely.

"Well, we almost made it to the plane." She laughed. "Are you children done fighting? Because I really don't want to have to stay here and wait for another flight."

We all nodded our heads obediently. I felt like such an idiot.

Not only was I in a human knot with my best friends, I had made a fool of myself in front of Willa.

She helped us get untangled, almost doubling over in laughter.

"You guys looked so silly! I wish I had taped that, I would've gotten first place on America's Funniest Home Videos!"

She helped me up last, and of course, being the doofus I was, I had to trip and fall onto her, making us both go down.

I found myself gazing into Willa's chocolate brown eyes.

I leaned in a little, closing my eyes, Willa doing the same.

We almost kissed, too.

But of course, the flight attendant's voice had to come over the intercom, telling us it was time to board our flight.

Willa and I jumped up, brushing ourselves off. The others were smirking at us, laughing silently.

"Just come on." I grumbled.

This day was getting off to a bad start.

**Jess P.O.V.**

There was nothing to do on the plane. The movies sucked. The games sucked. The food sucked.

The people sucked. The chairs sucked. The windows sucked.

You're probably thinking that I'm just being grumpy. Well you're right.

At first I had thought that this trip might be fun. But then I realized something. I was the only one without a guy.

Once everyone started getting out of their denial stage, all they would be paying attention to was each other. True, it would probably take a little while for Charlie and Maybeck to get together, but still.

From what I'd seen in the airport, Willa and Philby were already starting to take the next step. And as soon as Finn got over his shyness, he and Amanda would start dating. So I'm going to have to be stuck in an apartment with six love-struck geeks. Whoopee.

I started watching Home on the Range for the third time. How long does it take for a plane to get from Florida to Texas?! Argh!

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, taking off my headphones at the same time.

"Hey, Jess, do you want to play Uno with us?"

I turned around to find all six of my friends staring at me with goofy expressions.

Laughing, I said, "Sure."

Might as well take advantage of the time I do have with them.

…...

I couldn't believe it.

The plane had dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. There was a long dirt road that seemed to go on forever, and it was VERY HOT. Not knowing what to do, we all sat on the side of the road and waited. And waited.

At one point we got so bored that we started having rock-throwing contests.

Finally, when it was probably about four o' clock, a big van came driving toward us, parking in front of our spot on the road.

An old man got out. He looked about 80 years old and reminded me a lot of Wayne.

He walked toward us, taking out a clipboard.

"Are you Fred Whiteman?" he asked Finn.

"Um, no. I'm Finn Whitman."

"But it says right here that you're Fred Whiteman." He showed us his clipboard, but I could tell that it said Finn Whitman and not Fred Whiteman. The old man obviously couldn't see very well.

He turned the clipboard back around, checking off Finn's name.

"Okay, so I've got Fred. Which one of you is Wanda Algotta?"

Not even trying to correct him, Willa raised her hand.

"Next on the list is David Pilgy." Philby raised his hand.

"Avery Lanning?" Amanda.

"Jerica Lanning?" Jess.

"Charlotte Tucker?" Charlene.

"Tiffany Maybelline?"

" .WOAH." Maybeck stepped up to the old man.

"I don't care if you get everyone else's name wrong, but I am no girl."

"You're right, you don't look like a girl. Not pretty enough."

Maybeck glared at us as we all snickered.

"Come on, sonny, I don't have all day. What's your name?"

"Donnie Maybeck."

"Alrighty, then. I've got everyone checked off my list. Are you ready to see where you're staying?"

"Um, I've got a question," Charlene said.

"What is it, Charlotte?" the man asked, exhausted.

"First of all, it's Charlene. Second of all, Wayne said we were staying at the Millionare's Hotel."

"That's right. Are you you going to get to the question anytime soon?"

"Well, we're in the middle of NOWHERE! You're telling me there's a five star hotel in the middle of this place?"

"Might as well tell you the story, I guess. Wayne told me to tell you kids as little as possible, but he didn't tell me how annoying you were."

We all climbed into the van, barely fitting. Finn and Amanda sat up front with-

I suddenly felt really bad. We hadn't even asked the guy his name yet.

I was about to ask him when the others all piled in, having an argument about who wanted to sit where. Well, it wasn't everyone.

Philby and Willa dived into the very back of the van, trying to avoid the fight between Maybeck and Charlene.

"I want the window seat, Maybeck! You can sit in the middle!"

"No, I want the window seat! You sit in the middle, you're smaller!"

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

They suddenly stopped fighting, staring at each other. For a minute, I thought they were going to kiss. Until they both made a break for the car.

Charlene stopped short while Maybeck dived straight into the middle seat.

"Hey, you tricked me!" he yelled as Charlie climbed into the seat next to him. Maybeck crossed his arms, pouting, until the door closed all the way. He grabbed Charlene, catching her off-guard.

We all stared at them, stunned, while they wrestled away, each trying to get to the window seat. If I hadn't cleared my head, they probably could've gone on forever.

"Hey!" I yelled, getting their attention. Thank goodness I had, too. Maybeck had Charlie in a headlock while she was about to jab her knee into his...you know.

"Guys, stop it! Charlie, just come switch seats with me, I'll sit in the middle."

"Really?"

"Anything's better than this."

Charlene crawled over to where I was sitting and we made the swap. The others were still getting over their shock. Even the old guy looked surprised.

That's when I remembered.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked as he started up the engine, causing a cloud of dust to rise up around us.

"About time one of you crazy youngsters asked. The name's William. But you can just call me Will."

"Hey," Finn spoke up, "you haven't told us the story yet. Can you tell us now?"

"Yeah!" Willa said. "I want to hear it!"

It was almost laughable how excited she was.

Will cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention, even Charlie and Maybeck, who had been glaring daggers at each other.

"Well, first of all I should tell you that Wayne is my brother,"

"I knew it!" Amanda said, interrupting.

"I'm never going to finish the story if you young folk keep interrupting me. Now as I was saying, Wayne is my brother. We used to run this hotel together, until he decided that plain old Texas country life wasn't good enough for him."

I had a feeling that was a touchy subject.

"Anyway, he went off to Florida and I stayed here and took care of the hotel. The hotel is pretty much a getaway for movie stars. If they don't want to be found, but still live "the life", as they say it, they come here. No paparazzi knows about this place. It's top secret."

"So we're going to be living in the same hotel movie stars live in ?!" Charlene sqealed, now excited like Willa.

The two of them looked at each other and yelled, "O.M.G.!"

Yep, they were definitely best friends.

"In fact," said Will, "here we are now."

All seven of us pressed our faces against the window to get a good look at the hotel. And if I do say so myself, OMG! This hotel looked like a palace. It was about ten stories high, the walls looking like gold.

"I think I'm gonna faint!" Charlene whispered in awe as we all jumped out of the car.

"Me too!" Amanda giggled, hooking her arm in Charlie's. Together, the two of them ran toward the front door, doing some kind of race even though their arms were linked.

I don't know why, but I was somewhat jealous of Charlie. Don't get me wrong, I love her as much as anybody, but Amanda was MY best friend. Willa appeared next to me, looking just as disgruntled.

"I don't understand what happened. She and Amanda never got along this well before. Now they do everything together."

I suddenly realized how right she was. I'd known this trip would have a lot of drama, but I'd never imagined that it would happen this early. Or that I'd start it.

"How about we give them a taste of their own medicine?" I asked, feeling the sneaky side of me starting to take charge.

At first Willa looked doubtful,(She's always been the nice one)but slowly, a smile spread across her face.

"It's only fair." she said, linking her arm through mine.

As we skipped toward the front door, the boys shook their heads and said, "Girls."

This was going to be fun.

**Amanda P.O.V.**

I'd been kidding when I said I was going to faint, but I was seriously rethinking the possibility when I walked into the lobby, arm in arm with Charlene.

As soon as we got in, Charlie gasped and fell into my arms, playfully pretending to faint. I hadn't told anyone, but Charlie and I got along really well when we didn't have Finn ruining our friendship. I'd found out things about her that I never would've known if she still liked Finn. I'm not saying she was Jess, nobody can be, but I was really happy about how close we'd gotten.

A few minutes later Willa and Jess came into the room, arms linked. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Beside me, Charlie stood strait up, and I could tell she was as jealous as I was.

To my surprise, she grabbed my arm and steered me away from the other two, leading me to a different hallway. The last thing I saw was the boys walking in, shaking their heads at us and laughing. Maybeck said something about how weird girls are.

As soon as we were alone, Charlie turned me so I was looking at her head-on. She was giving me a Look.

"They're jealous." she said. "They're so jealous that they're trying to make us feel jealous. If you ask me, that's getting pretty dirty. All we do is walk in together and they get all protective."

I knew she was right the instant she said it. Anger suddenly burned inside me. Charlie and I had just become good friends and they were trying to split us up. I couldn't believe Jess would think I'd chosen Charlie over her. It was time to teach her a lesson.

I looked Charlie square in the eyes and said, "Well, if that's the way they wanna play, game on."

We hooked arms again and walked toward the front desk, where the others were waiting. This was about to get interesting.

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**There you have it! Please review, I want to know how I did!**

**R,R, and R! Thanks!**


	3. The Rule That Starts The Fight

**Okay, everyone, here's chapter 3! Sorry it took so long, I've been really busy! Next I'm going to be writing my Wilby song-fic, so it may be a little bit before I post more on this story!**

**Okay, I'm going to stop talking now and let you read the story! Enjoy!:)**

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**Maybeck P.O.V.**

If I were a girl, I would have fainted.

Will ushered us into an elevator which then led us up to the top floor of the Millionaire's Hotel, him snoozing as we went up. I found it quite funny how Willa and Philby were fascinated by the railing in the elevator. Willa and Jess's arms were still linked, as were Charlie and Amanda's.

For reasons I can't explain, I found my attention drawn to Charlene. For the first time today, I got a good look at her, and she looked like a mess.

Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail, looking like she hadn't put any effort into it at all. Her clothes weren't the usual tight shorts and shirt, but instead she wore baggy sweatpants accompanied by a hoodie. She still had her house shoes on, she wore no makeup, and I realized it looked as if she had been crying, despite her happy look as she laughed at a joke Amanda had told her.

Before I could think about it further, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, revealing a single door and nothing but hallway all the way down the hall. We really did own this floor.

Will fumbled through his pockets for a couple minutes before pulling out a room key and slipping it into the key hole. I was kinda surprised he hadn't let one of us open the door, but the thought was driven out of my mind as soon as the door swung open.

We all walked through the door, mouths gaping open. I didn't even know they had HOUSES this big, much less apartments! (Not that I'm complaining)

I dropped the one bag I had been carrying and walked around the room, astonished. Even though the apartment was fancy, it did have that home-y look about it. Instead of marble floors there was a purple carpet. The furniture looked very comfortable and I was just about to sit down on one of the couches until-

"OHMYGOSH! VIDEO GAMES! TV! MOVIE THEATER!"

Jess ran into the room she had been screaming about, quickly followed by the rest of us. What I saw just about made my eyes pop out of their sockets.

On one big wall there was a TV taking up the entire wall. About ten feet away were seven comfy chairs facing it, three in the front, four in the back. On the opposite side of the wall there were two flat screen TVs, each with three beanbags facing them. But that wasn't the best part.

The third wall was lined with just about every single video game you could think of. They had DS games, XBOX, WII, everything! On the last wall there was nothing but movies. Rows and rows and rows of movies. The girls were calling out names of movies they wanted to watch, some of which I'd never even heard of.

Suddenly, Charlene bounded over to the seats in front of the big TV and plopped down in one.

"OMG! Maybeck, you have to sit in one of these, it feels like heaven!"

I left the guys looking at video games since I knew they wouldn't miss me. Willa and Amanda had just come over.

For some reason I didn't understand, I was happy Charlie had called me over and not anybody else. I personally would have thought I would be the last person she wanted close to her.

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of her, watching her get a massage by her chair. As soon as she saw me, her eyes got really big and she started talking fast.

"OMG, you have to try this thing! It has tons of different things you can do with it, see? It can give you a massage, it can turn into a water chair, it can decline really far back, you can make it poofier, you can make it tougher! Look, you can even make it give you popcorn!"

Sure enough, she pressed a button and the armrest of the chair opened up, revealing a big tub of popcorn.

"Awesome!" I reached in the tub and grabbed a handful of the popcorn, plopping down in the chair next to Charlene.

Before I could get a conversation going with her, though, Will came in and told us to stop messing around and come pick our rooms. We all raced out of the game room, running down the hall, through the main room, and down the opposite hall, which held all of the bedrooms.

When we first got here, I'd thought some of us would have to share a room. Nope! There were 8 bedrooms in this apartment! Talk about luck!

It was absolute pandemonium as we all scrambled to get the room we wanted. We tried to be reasonable about it, but it ended up just being a fight to the finish. I won't scare you with the details, but here's how the arrangement worked out.

On one side we had Finn in the first room, then Jess, then Willa, then Philby. On the other side we had Amanda in the first room, then Charlie, then, of course, me. There's a cool grate in between the walls of each room, so whenever you want to talk to the person next to you, all you have to do is open the grate! How cool is that?!

For a minute I thought this apartment thing might be cool. Emphasis on the word _minute._

**Amanda P.O.V.**

After we all got settled, we looked around the rest of the apartment. Let me tell you, I knew we were going to get classy, but I didn't know we were going to get 4-bathroom-classy! I think we have every single brand and flavor of shampoo in the history of the WORLD! Not only that, but we also have two kitchens, a game room, and an empty room that seemingly has no purpose at all!

I think we were all pretty tired out because Maybeck told us a joke and we actually_ laughed _at it. We all headed back to the main room, only to be scared by Will, who was sitting on the couch. All four of us girls screamed, and if I hadn't been so shocked I might've laughed when Charlene jumped into Willa's arms, hiding her face.

Okay, you might be wondering why we were so surprised, but if an old guy that you thought had left an hour ago was just sitting on your couch reading a newspaper, you would be scared too.

"Hello, children. Have you gotten accustomed to your surroundings?"

Will folded up his newspaper and set it down on the table next to him, alternating it with his cup of coffee that he must have made while we were goofing off in Philby's room. He took one sip, then set the coffee down, beckoning for us to sit in front of him. As he laced his fingers together and leaned forward on his knees, I could tell he meant business, so the seven of us quickly shuffled over, Finn, Philby, and I taking the couch while the others sat on the floor in front of us.

"Now." Will sat back and took another sip of his coffee, making sure to build the suspense. He took his time, taking about five drinks before setting his mug back down.

"I think we need to lay out a few ground rules."

This one sentence sent us all into a frenzy. Maybeck especially didn't like it.

"What?!" he yelled. "This is supposed to be fun! We can't have fun if we have rules!"

An echo of agreement aroused from the others, but of course Finn HAD to agree with Will.

"Are you crazy?!" Charlene asked.

"Look, Finn, I'm usually a stickler on the rules, but even I have to admit that we're on vacation!" That one was Philby.

"Yeah, Finn, just lighten up." I said, trying to settle the argument.

"Quiet!"

Willa usually wasn't very demanding or loud, so when she spoke up, we all quieted down.

"I want to hear what the rules are, then we can argue over them."

She turned her attention back to Will, and since none of us could argue with that, the rest of us tuned back into Will.

"Now, if you children are done ranting, I'd like to lay out the rules for you. There's a reason why I gave you the biggest room in the hotel. So you wouldn't have to leave."

It took a minute for me to contemplate what he had just said, but when I did understand, I wasn't very happy with the arrangement. I opened my mouth to argue, but Will looked at me with a stern gaze, and I decided against it.

"Wayne told me that even though you all never actually go looking for trouble, it always seems to find you. So, I've come up with a way to make sure nothing happens to you. You will not leave this room except for the one hour a week I give you to go out into town. That's not including the town dances, though. All of you will be attending those. Any questions?"

We erupted into debate, trying to convince Will that it wasn't a good idea to keep us locked up in an apartment together for who-knows-how-long.

Finn had been surprisingly quiet for the entire speech, along with the debate. So when he finally spoke up, we all listened. Even Will, who had resigned to sipping his coffee and staring blankly at the wall.

"Sir," He said, "I don't think Wayne will like the idea of you keeping us locked up in here."

Will smiled, and it creeped me out. It looked as if it'd been a year since he'd brushed, and it wasn't doing much for my indigestion.

"Sonny, he told me to take whatever precautions necessary to make sure all you youngsters are safe. And that's exactly what I'm going to do."

He got up off the couch and headed toward the door.

"And don't even think about sneaking out. You'll never do it again."

He turned around and gave us another one of his disgusting smiles. And this time, I was seriously creeped out. As he walked out the door, he told us he'd send food up in about 30 minutes. Then he closed the door, locking it.

So that's why he didn't give us the key.

**Finn P.O.V.**

Okay, I'll admit that I wasn't happy with the situation. And the way he said that Wayne wouldn't care about these conditions certainly didn't help. But I knew that, as the leader, I had to keep everybody else from bursting into flame. Literally.

Charlene and Maybeck were arguing dangerously close to the electrical unit, which, as a precaution, I knew was on. And the way Charlene kept her hands close to the fire extinguisher didn't improve my mood. Yeah, I've seen what they can do with those things.

Willa and Philby were arguing on the couch, right next to my ear. And frankly, I didn't like the fact that they were so close to breakable glass while they were mad. Jess originally had been fighting with them, but when she saw Amanda and me sitting on the couch not doing anything, she got mad. I didn't pay attention to her, just sat there watching my friends break down. Amanda wasn't as calm as I was.

"You're mad at me for NOT fighting? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?!"

In the kitchen, I heard a crash. I didn't even want to know what was going on in there.

"Don't even talk to me, Maybeck! You're being so selfish! Hey!"

Maybeck came into the room with Charlene flung over his shoulder.

"Put me down! I have the fire extinguisher, you know!"

This should have scared Maybeck, but he just dropped Charlie on the floor, deposited the weapon, and picked her back up again. But this time, Charlene bit him on the arm, sending the two of them into another yelling match.

On my other side, Willa and Philby's argument was getting heated, and I could tell because they were both now holding onto their glasses very tightly. Philby said something that obviously made Willa very mad, because before I knew it, they were both standing up, full on yelling. It didn't help very much when something they said caught Jess and Amanda's attention, and the four of them began yelling at each other. Charlene's and Maybeck's names came up in their argument, and soon all six members of my family were in a screaming match.

I was thinking about just going to my room and letting them cool off, but when Charlene started to pick up the fire extinguisher again, I knew I had to do something.

"Guys." I tried to get their attention, but it wasn't working.

"Guys!" Still nothing. I was starting to get angry now, and even though I knew I should keep my cool, I also knew that they were being ridiculous. In my anger, I threw one of the glass cups over all their heads, sending it flying into the wall.

"GUYS!"

They all quieted down immediately, staring at me as if I were their mother and I had just caught them stealing.

"Look!" I said, trying to calm down. "I know that this turn of events isn't something we're crazy about! But it seems like all of you have forgotten that we're on the same team here! I know that it's going to be a little hard to get through this, but do you think fighting is going to help anyone?"

Everybody looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"I didn't think so. Now, go to bed, it's late."

"Hey, you're not the boss of me! I can do what ever I-" Charlene slapped Maybeck on the arm before trudging off to her to her room, Willa and Jess at her side. Philby nodded at me before following the girls, Maybeck in his wake.

Soon I was left alone with Amanda. I'd never felt more uncomfortable in my life. I'd just yelled at her, and now she was staring at me like I'd slapped her.

"Amanda, I'm sorry-"

"No, Finn, it's not me you should be worried about. It's them. You don't need to pull their leashes so hard, or one day they'll snap."

This wasn't how I'd wanted my time alone with Amanda to go. I especially didn't want to get mad at her. But sometimes you say things before you think.

"Well, someone had to pull their leashes because even you, the most down to earth person I know, were acting like a little kid!"

I regretted it as soon as I said it. Amanda was quiet for the longest time, and in a way, that was worse than her yelling at me. After a few minutes, she started toward her room.

"I'm sorry you think of me that way."

Her words hit me like I was being slapped by Goliath. As she passed me, I grabbed her arm desperately, wanting to make things right. She tried to pull away from me, but I wouldn't let that happen. I grabbed both of her arms and pinned her against me, chest to chest.

"Finn, let me go!" she said trying to get away from me.

But I just held on tighter, snaking one am around her waist, pinning her against me, using the other to turn her face toward mine. Being the stubborn girl she is, she tried to pull her face away from my fingers, but I kept it turned toward me.

"Finn, I swear, you are going to be in so much trouble once I get out of this! You can't just-"

I kissed her. I could register her surprise, but it only made me want to kiss her more. I expected her to pull away and yell at me, but as soon as she got over her shock, she kissed me back. I felt her relax and snake her arms around my neck. And I never wanted to stop.

Jolts of electricity ran through my body, and I finally understood what they meant when they said sparks flew when you kissed the right person. Finally, we pulled apart, breathing heavily. We just stared at each other, me still pinning her against me. After a minute, Amanda smiled.

"I guess I won't throw you into a wall. You changed my mind."

I laughed for the first time since we'd gotten on the plane, and I released Amanda from my hold. Together we walked to our rooms. At her door, I kissed her one last time, as if I were at her house.

"Good night, Finn." She closed her door.

As I entered my own room and laid on my bed, the only thing I could think about was the kiss. I didn't even mind the arguing I could hear next door.

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**Soo? What'd you think? Don't worry, I'm going to be doing more Wilby moments, I just thought we needed a little Famanda!**

**Okay, I have a little announcement! I've decided to tell you all my name and what I look like, so if you want to know, just go to my profile!**

**Am I missing anything? Oh yeah!**

**R,R, and R! :)**


	4. There's Always A Way Out

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been SOOO long, I've had a lot on my plate right now and i haven't been able to write at all! I finally managed to get this chapter up, so I hope you all enjoy it!**

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**Jess P.O.V.**

When Amanda called all of us girls to her room for a "meeting", I automatically knew something was wrong. There were two reasons why I knew.

She was excited enough to temporarily forget the ongoing competition between us.

She LITERALLY dragged the three of us out of bed at 4:30 in the morning so she could tell us her big news.

I was secretly happy about the first reason, but I definitely didn't make it a secret how unhappy I was about the second reason. After Amanda had all three of us locked safely in her room, she told us what she was so happy about.

Now, I would go into detail about what exactly was going through my head at that moment, but the easiest way to put it is this: the little amount of happiness inside me completely vanished. Charlene and Willa were wholeheartedly congratulating Amanda while I realized that my nightmare was already starting to happen. Without thinking or saying anything, I quickly got up and left the room, leaving the others behind.

I raced toward the front door with tears blurring my vision. I couldn't even think properly. It felt like my brain had shut down, and all I could hear was a slight buzzing in my ears and a few thuds as I ran blindly toward the exit. I needed to get away.

I needed to be alone, to get my head on straight. I grabbed the door handle and shook it, but it wouldn't budge. That's when it all came back to me. I couldn't get away. I was stuck here with no way out. I was a prisoner. I desperately shook the handle again before slamming my fists against it and yelling a word that would make Mrs. Nash ground me for a whole year. Frustrated, I threw myself on the couch, putting my head in my hands. I'd never felt so lost in my life.

I wasn't even sure why I was reacting so dramatically. I'd always known that one day Amanda would find the perfect guy, and I'd always known it would be Finn. I guess I just hadn't wanted it to happen so fast. It felt like I was losing my mom, my sister, and my best friend all at once. As it washed over me that I would have to share Amanda with Finn, I let the tears that I'd been holding back fall.

Part of me knew I was being a selfish jerk, but the other part kept screaming that it wasn't fair. Amanda and I had been through everything together, and now Finn was taking her away from me.

The only word I could find to explain what I was feeling was lost. I felt REALLY lost. I got pulled out of my thoughts when I felt the couchshift, and I looked up to see Amanda's worried face.

As another tear rolled down my cheek, she reached up and brushed it away.

"Are you okay?" she asked, the worry clear in her voice.

That one little question should have made things all better, but all I could feel was anger bubbling up inside me.

"Am I okay?" I asked incredulously, my sarcasm about to take control. I urgently fought down the sudden need to yell, not wanting to wake boys up.

"Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be? The only thing happening is my best friend's being taken away from me! But oh yeah, I'm completely fine!"

What I expected Amanda to do next was to hug me and reassure me that no one's going to take her away. Boy was I wrong. She stood up, now face to face with me.

"I can't believe you." she started, glaring at me.

"The boy of my dreams just kissed me, and all you can think about is YOURSELF!"

Charlie and Willa came in to see what all the commotion was about, but I was still too stunned to say anything. So Amanda kept yelling at me.

"You're my sister, Jess! You're supposed to be HAPPY for me! Just because I'm dating Finn doesn't mean I'm going to completely ignore you! I thought we could celebrate together, forget about that stupid fight we were having before, but I guess not!"

"Mandy-"

"Just stop it, Jess! STOP IT! YOU WERE AFRAID YOU WERE GONNA LOSE ME? WELL, GUESS WHAT?! NOW YOU HAVE!"

She pushed past everyone else and stormed to her room. Because of all the commotion, the boys had woken up, so now they were all staring at me with either sympathy or disbelief.

After shaking their heads at me, Finn, Willa, and Charlene left in the same direction as Amanda. Philby and Maybeck gave me hugs before leaving as well. At least they understood where I was coming from. The only problem was, they were both guys. At least before I had one girl on my side, but now I have none.

And to think, it's only 5:30 in the morning.

**Amanda P.O.V.**

I couldn't believe her.

First off, I wasn't even happy with her to begin with because of the little competition she and Willa started. But now I was MAD.

I had expected her to be happy for me. I mean, Finn kissed me! I'd been waiting for that to happen for a REALLY long time. But the worst part was, she knew that. Jess was the only one I told all my secrets to, and now that my dream had finally come true, she was being a total brat about it.

Frustrated, I slammed my door closed and flung myself onto my bed. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. She's never acted this way before, and it bothered me. I wanted to go ask her what was going on, but I knew it was too late for that. Jess and I had officially gotten into our first fight here in Texas, and there was no going back.

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a soft knocking on my door.

"Who is it?" I yelled, not really wanting to talk to anyone at the moment.

"It's Finn."

I didn't want to seem vulnerable, but I couldn't stop the emotions from coming. I ran to the door, yanked it open, and threw myself into his arms, crying the whole time.

"Woah, woah! It's okay Manda, it's okay. Ssh."

Finn closed the door and carried me over to my bed before setting me down carefully and sitting down next to m, wrapping his strong arms around me as I cried into his chest. The tears came wave after wave as the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. I had a fight with Jess. I had a fight with JESS.

Now that I think about it, it wasn't even really a fight, seeing as I was the only one yelling. That thought just made me cry harder. Finn stayed with me the whole time, not making a sound. All he did was just rub my back and give me the occasional kiss on top of my head. And that just made me love him more.

He understood that I didn't need someone to talk to. All I needed was for someone to be there. After awhile, Finn laid us back on the bed, not letting go of me for a second.

As I cried my self to sleep on his shoulder, my eyes slowly closing from exhaustion, I managed to make out three little words that came out of his moth.

"I love you."

**Philby P.O.V.**

"You're such a jerk!"

Charlie was angrily stomping around the room she, Maybeck, Willa and I were occupying. As much as I knew this wasn't a laughing matter, I couldn't help but get a kick out of the little competition going on between her and Maybeck. It was like watching an old married couple, and the fact that they became oblivious to anything going on around them when they fought only made the whole fiasco more hilarious.

Maybeck was standing up with his arms crossed over his chest, looking a little bit more than ticked off. I had the sudden feeling that there were going to be some inappropriate words coming up pretty quick. At the same time Charlene was loudly pacing the floor, her cheeks slowly turning redder the more mad she got. I almost had the urge to go get some popcorn.

Suddenly, Charlene stopped and pointed her finger at Maybeck, and I could tell she was about to add on to her original statement.

"You can be so uncaring sometimes! Oh wait. Did I say sometimes? I meant ALL THE TIME! You're emotionally uninvolved in everything we do! You could at least choose a stupid SIDE!"

"I DID choose a stupid side! Jess's!" he yelled back, uncrossing his arms and balling his hands into fists. Oh, this was getting good.

"Yeah, well, you chose the WRONG ONE! Here's Amanda, who's finally getting what she's wanted FOREVER, and you choose the side of the person who tried to ruin it for her?!" Charlie's face was now beet red as she took a few fuming steps toward Maybeck. I didn't find it very enjoyable to watch this fight anymore because:

I could tell it was about to get nasty.

She had just insulted Jess.

I was about to cut in, but Maybeck wasn't about to be shown up by a girl.

"Ruin it for her?! She's just afraid of losing her! I f anyone's on the ****ing wrong side, it's YOU!"

"ME?! You've never been in Amanda's position, so I guess you wouldn't understand! And what did I tell you about using that word!"

Willa stood up abruptly and faced Charlene. I knew she was about to say something she'd been holding inside for awhile. I was about to interfere, not wanting her to say something she was going to regret, but I was too late.

"You know what? It makes perfect sense that you're on Amanda's side Charlene, seeing how she's your new best friend!?

Charlene looked confused for a second, but she quickly regained her composure.

"What are you talking about, Willa? You were on her side too! And the only reason I even started that stupid competition was because you and Jess got so freakin' JEALOUS! Oh wait, is that why you're defending that brat? Because SHE'S YOUR new best friend?!" She began to stalk out of the room.

I couldn't stay out of this anymore. Charlene just crossed the line when she called Jess a brat. Maybeck grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"We're not done." he said menacingly, and I could tell she was starting to get outnumbered. But I didn't care. She deserved what was coming to her.

"No, we're not!" I yelled loudly, getting everyone's attention. I locked my eyes on Charlene, letting her feel my rage. Soon I found myself glaring at her, only about six inches away from her face.

"How dare you call Jess a brat! She was only scared about losing Amanda! And if you ask me, you're the one who doesn't understand! You know why? Because you only care about yourself! You've never loved anyone except YOU!"

Part of me knew that what I'd said had been way too harsh and that a slap was coming. But the other part of me felt proud. Nobody talked about Jess that way.

But what surprised me was when no slap came. Charlie's eyes glistened with tears as she stood there shocked, as if I'D hit HER. As the first tear fell, she covered her face with her hands and ran out of the room.

THAT'S when I got slapped. Willa smacked me across the face so hard, I was surprised it didn't just come off.

"How dare you talk to Charlie like that! You don't know her like I do! You don't know what she's had to go through! You had no right to yell at her that way!"

And she ran after Charlene.

I looked at Maybeck, feeling like a lost puppy. But he looked as mad as Willa, maybe more. He also looked astonished and hurt, as if by hurting Charlie, I had hurt him as well. That in itself was ironic, seeing how he was ready to rip her head off a few minutes ago.

"Not cool, man."

And with that, he raced out of the room after the girls, taking what was left of my ego with him. This wasn't what I'd wanted. Now, because of my jerkiness, I'd lost a best friend, a little sister, and the love of my life.

Worst vacation ever.

**Charlene P.O.V.**

I suddenly understood what Jess had been going through. Feeling like she was losing what meant the most to her. Feeling like she'd been hit by a ton of bricks. She didn't seem like such a brat anymore.

"Charlie? I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I didn't mean it! Where are you?"

Willa's voice echoed through my brain as I ran away from her. I knew she was sorry, and I was too, but right now I just wanted to be alone. I blindly stumbled into the main room, hoping to find a safe haven, but just my luck: Jess was sitting there.

"Charlie? What's wrong?"

Not wanting to talk to anyone, I completely ignored her question.

"Please don't tell her where I'm going, Jess! Please!"

I wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't understood a word I'd said, because the tears were falling freely now and I knew I was blubbering. But when she heard Willa call my name, all she did was nod, telling me she understood and that she wouldn't pry. I gave her a quick thank you and kept running, not wanting to stick around to see how things played out. The last thing I heard before I got out of earshot was Jess telling Willa I'd gone off in the complete opposite direction than I'd really gone.

I desperately ran into the storage room and tried to open its windows that, if they hadn't been locked, would lead out to a big tree that was the beginning of a forest. The perfect hiding spot. It was almost like old Will was taunting me, like, _Ha ha, you can't get to the one place you need to be able to get to, Charlotte. I win._

Fresh out of ideas, I began banging on the windows. But not too loudly, for fear of giving away my location to Willa. However, despite my efforts to be quiet, I soon heard a pair of footsteps coming down the hall towards me. Assuming it was Jess, I didn't even bother to hide. I knew she'd want to know what was going on sooner or later, and that she'd follow me to find out.

So of course I was taken completely off guard when when it was Maybeck, not Jess, who appeared in the doorway. But I surprised myself when I was too worked up to think about him for very long. I had to find a way out.

I tried one more time to open the window gently before going back to banging on the glass, barely aware of Maybeck closing the door.

Tired out from my little outburst, I collapsed on the ground, crying.

"Why won't the stupid window open!"

Maybeck sat down beside me and I covered my face with my hands, not wanting him to see me when I was in this state. I had no idea what he was doing since I couldn't see with my hands over my eyes, so I almost jumped when I felt his breath on my neck.

He leaned in and whispered, "It's barely even day two, and we already have a wrecked mess."

Despite my current position, I couldn't help but laugh at his comment. It really was rather pathetic that we'd only been here for two days and I was already a mess.

"Charlie, why even try? We all know there's no way out."

I looked up at him, and suddenly I flashed back to something my long-lost father had said when I was little and he was still around. I felt a surge of desperation as I locked eyes with Maybeck and whispered,

"There's always a way out."

And that's how we got our secret hideaway. I'm not going to go into details about how we figured out how to open the window without setting off any alarms. It probably doesn't matter, you'll find out soon enough anyways.

But in that moment, I couldn't help but be happy as Maybeck and I sat in one of the trees in the middle of the forest, talking about nothing. We finally had something that was ours, just ours. It was kind of like closure of our friendship, telling everyone that we were, in fact, friends.

We talked for a long time about movies and video games and food. It made the moment even better when he didn't ask about why I'd reacted so dramatically to Philby's outburst. It was almost perfect.

I mean, besides the fact that Philby had indirectly brought up bad thoughts from my past, we were in Texas and not Florida, our home, and that I was sharing this heart-wrenching moment with the annoying dork himself, Maybeck. Note the sarcasm.

Hey, just because I'm friends with the guy doesn't mean I actually have to like him. Okay, that sounded messed up, even to me.

But the point is that despite all those downfalls, the last of which still has me slightly perplexed, the moment was close enough to perfect for me.

Too bad it wouldn't stay that way.

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**So, what'd ya think? Please review and tell me what you did or did not like! Also, if you have any ideas on upcoming plot problems for this story, please PM me, because I'm open to suggestions!**

**R,R, and R! Peace out!:)**


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